PNW Summer 2014 trip, CG/boondock advice needed

[Dogmobile]

Instead of leaving the OR coast for Crater Lake and then back out to the coast, consider going a bit further up before cutting over to Crater Lake, and then up the east side of the Cascades through Bend and over Mt Hood to get to Clackamas.

The High Desert Museum in Bend is very worth a stop. There is also a cool outdoor logging equipment museum further south on 395. In Bend you can drive (or hike) to the top of a volcano cone. Bend/Sisters gives you great access to hiking, and you could take that McKenzie Pass road back to I-5 if you wanted - it passes through vast lava fields and there is a neat "observatory" built from lava rock at the top. If you opt for the route over Mt Hood, be sure to stop at Smith Rocks to watch the climbers for a bit. You could boondock almost anywhere along this route (except Bend proper, of course).

The southern Oregon coast has everything you could want - I don't think you'd be missing much by skipping the inland, somewhat depressed agricultural community of Tillamook. North of Newport, the towns on the actual coast get more and more touristy the farther north you go.

Bandon has something you will never forget and won't find anywhere else: the chance to pet tiger and lion cubs at the West Coast Game Park. It is a one of a kind place that has been run by the same family for 40 years.

[Dogmobile]

Not sure why the word "volcano" got replaced by [deleted]. Maybe autocorrect changed it to something racier without my noticing?

Ha, it happened again. The word was v-o-l-c-a-n-o.

[rockbender]

Tough call guys. I live in central Oregon and definitely love all there is to offer here, but that Southern Oregon section of coast is pretty amazing (as are the Redwoods).

One of our favorite campgrounds on the Oregon coast is Beverly Beach State Park just north of Newport.

This should be an awesome trip!

[86Scotty]

Dogmobile and Rockbender, I like the way you are thinking. I've been looking Central Oregon from Crater Lake up to Clackamas and there is a lot of great scenery through there it looks like. I'll have to get my plans out when I get home and look at going further up the OR coast then going inland, maybe at Reedsport? If we want to go over to Tillamook we can go from Clackamas west for a day trip or something since we will be there 2-3 days.

Oh, volcano. I just wanted to try it. Volcano, volcano, volcano.

[86Scotty]

WTF? Why can you not put the word v-o-l-c-a-n-o into a post?

[chromisdesigns]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

WTF? Why can you not put the word v-o-l-c-a-n-o into a post?

Advertising spam filter? There is a brand of charcoal grill popular with campers called V******O.

[BroncoHauler]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

WTF? Why can you not put the word v-o-l-c-a-n-o into a post?

This question gets asked once or twice a year.

A number of years back we had a new member. Within his first few posts, he was talking about how great a certain grill was. Couldn't stop talking about it. Jage finally came right out and asked this guy if he sold this grill. FNG (f-ing new guy) said he had no affiliation to the grill. This kept going on for a while, and then Jage asked him if he'd be willing to cut him a deal on a grill in exchange for advertising on the forum. The liar took the bait and said yes.

All references to the grill name were removed from the forum, and the ban-hammer came out and his username was banned, his e-mail was banned, and his IP was banned.

Lets just say that the grill name's legacy is that the word in question cannot be used on the forum. Also gives everyone a little bit of insight as to why we're 'enthusiastic' about limiting the amount of commercial content on this forum, and making sure that people with vested, financial interests in discussion topics and items for sale clearly identify their position.


Herb

[86Scotty]

Cool Herb, thanks for the explanation. Yet another reason I love this forum. I hate to be advertised/marketed to, which means I'm pretty much frustrated any time I'm awake these days.

[rockbender]

Reedsport or Coos Bay would be a good place to cut over. There are cool dune areas to check out near both of those areas. I'd recommend cutting over to Central Oregon via Hwy 38 (Umpqua Highway) from Roseburg. There are some great camping spots and lots of short hikes to waterfalls along that route.

So many choices... this thread is going to get long!

[larrie]

Another route from the east to west side is the Cascades is HWY 58. Beautiful views along the middle fork of the Willamette River. You will want to check on the road condition because the have been boing bridge reconstruction and there are some delays because of it. Here is the link that shows all the road construction projects in Oregon, https://gis.odot.state.or.us/opt/